


The Gift

by ChocoNut



Series: Many ways to say I love you [36]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Post 8x5, This is how 8x6 should begin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 06:51:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18867976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoNut/pseuds/ChocoNut
Summary: Brienne comes to King's Landing to find the city destroyed and her love presumably dead.





	The Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Unedited, this is an impulsive piece as I had promised myself to stay away from writing until the finale aired. But I couldn't resist.

Brienne rode into the city with Podrick by her side, taking in what was left of it - murder, mayhem, destruction, flames and ashes, her heartbeat rising a notch every second, expecting the inevitable but hoping for the impossible. Getting off her horse, she set foot into what was once the abode of the Queen. The Red Keep was a pile of rubble, the once magnificent structure now a barely recognizable heap of dust and bricks.

“Ser Brienne.”

She turned around hearing his shaken, almost broken voice. “Lord Tyrion!” she exclaimed, relieved to find a familiar face alive among the crowd of corpses. “Is he--” His sad eyes when she mentioned his brother silenced her.

Tyrion shook his head, drawing his hand from behind his back to show her what was left of a golden hand, mangled and battered, indicating the fate of its owner. “I’m the last of my house,” he told her, his tone final and his eyes haunted.

She had no control over the tears that streamed down her cheeks, her loss leaving her with no words to express her grief or console the bereaved brother who stood in front of her.

“He’s left something for you, a gift,” Tyrion spoke again once he had collected himself. “He wanted you to have a part of him--”

Brienne shot him a surprised look. “But he--” _came back for Cersei,_ she was about to say, but Tyrion seemed to have read her mind.

“He wanted to help Cersei in her final moments, and so did I,” he said, looking her squarely in the eye. “She was family and our last instinct was to save her, but _you’re_ the one he loved,” he said with a fair bit of certainty.

“What did he want to give me?”

“I don’t have it here with me,” Tyrion lowered his tone. “If you take that route--” he pointed to a pathway, or what was left of it leading to the bay “--you’ll arrive at the mouth of a cave.”

“What--” she began, wondering where this was leading.

“There’s a boat hidden among the rocks. Find it,” he urged her, a sense of urgency in his voice.

“And then what?” she asked, exasperated with his cryptic clues.

“You’ll know what to do,” he said, meeting her eyes. He stepped forward and kissed her hand. “Goodbye, Lady Brienne, I hope I hear from you again.”

“Wait, what--” she was about to question him further, but he left without another word, leaving her alone.

“You must do as he said,” Pod said, reminding her of his presence.

And she did. Following Tyrion’s instructions they finally found the boat that was hidden in such a way that only someone who knew it was there would find it. Brienne squinted her eyes, trying to make out the large heap that lay on the boat.

“Is that…” She trailed away, not daring to voice her doubt for fear of being mistaken.

“It’s him,” Pod gasped, unable to tone down the excitement in his voice, “and he’s alive.”

They rushed to their destination, and there he was, crumpled to one side of the boat, in a sorry state, but very much alive and breathing. Without wasting further time, Brienne climbed in and crouched by his side.

“You came,” he murmured, opening his eyes.

She nodded, unsure whether to laugh or cry. “How could I not? I love you, Jaime,” she blurted out, letting out a sob, unable to control the overflow of emotions inside her. “You’re hurt,” she observed, touching his stomach.

“I’ll live,” he breathed, placing his hand on hers, “Tyrion made sure of that.”

A thousand thoughts came to her mind, and she didn’t know whether to kiss him or curse him. So she did the only thing her heart told her to, pulling him into an embrace, wanting nothing more than to relish the weight of his body against hers, never wanting to let go again, never wanting to leave him.

“I love you, Brienne,” he said in her ear, gently running his fingers through her hair. “I should’ve told you this much earlier.”

She let go of him. “You’re an idiot then,” she chided him, smiling at the same time. “Does one abandon the woman he loves in the middle of the night?”

“I’m yours to punish,” he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes, pulling her into his arms again. “You may choose to do whatever you wish with me, my lady.”

Without waiting for an answer, he kissed her, and this was undoubtedly the best kiss they’d ever had. He tasted of dust and ash and death, but he was alive, and so was she, and that made it even more special.

“Ser Jaime... Ser Brienne.”

They pulled apart abruptly, embarrassed at the realization that Pod was also around.

“For Lord Tyrion’s plan to succeed, you must get away from here immediately,” he pressed. “Go--”

“But where?” Brienne was perplexed, “and how--”

“No one knows you’re here, my lady. You could go to Tarth,” he suggested. “Start a new life.”

She was concerned about her squire. “I’ll join you soon, my lady,” he assured her, sensing the worry in her eyes.

After a hasty but emotional goodbye and a promise to meet Pod again, Brienne took control of the oars and began rowing them away. Off and on she stole a glance at Jaime, only to catch him gazing at her each and every time.

“What?” she asked, her face growing warm at the attention.

“Never in my life did I imagine we’d do this again,” he broke his silence, reminding her of another boat-ride they had years ago.

She smiled at the memory of their time together. “Never in my life did I imagine I’d fall in love with a man like you,” she confessed, recalling how much she’d hated him then.

“As a wise man once told you,” he said, throwing her a mischievous wink, “we don’t get to choose who we love.”

“But we do get to choose what we want to do with them,” she said, allowing herself to dream of a new life with him, far from this chaos.

“Whatever you want,” he teased, his eyes twinkling suggestively, “I’m all yours, body, mind and soul. I’m looking forward to doing better than those nights in Winterfell--”

“Oh, stop it, will you?” She blushed furiously.

“It’s a long way to Tarth, my lady,” he whined, “how do you propose we pass the time?”

She hid a smile. “With some peace and quiet. Why don’t you try remaining silent for a while?” she replied, without meaning a word of it.

“ _You_ could help me shut my mouth.” He fixed her with an intense gaze. “I’m sure that’ll keep me from talking, a much more pleasurable way to--”

“Shut up and let me row if you want to stay alive!” she scolded him, biting her lip shyly as she gave his suggestion a consideration. Kissing him wouldn’t be a bad idea, after all.

As they got away, her mind flew to Tyrion, silently thanking him. This was the best gift anyone had ever given her.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and do let me know if you liked it.


End file.
